


Cho Mai

by koalathebear



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Amputation, F/M, Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 04:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5570218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Prompt from anon on tumblr:</b> in the tradition of star wars protagonists losing parts of limbs, Rey's hand (or whatever you want) is cut off during a confrontation. She recovers slowly and painfully but is very self conscious about her stump/pros or being useless now etc and Finn and/or Poe (or both) show her that things will be okay (and nothing could change how he/they feel about her. I leave the pairing up to you, though the whole hand holding thing in the movie makes me lean to it being Finnrey foreshadowing</p><p>*</p><p>A scribble in response to my request for fic prompts over at this <a href="http://koalathebear.tumblr.com/post/135877026941/star-wars-the-force-awakens-fic-prompts">post</a>.  Set some time after Star Wars: The Force Awakens.</p><p>Technically Finn/Rey/Poe but it's probably mostly Rey/Poe which is why it's included.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cho Mai

**Author's Note:**

> _Cho mai:_ the act of cutting off an opponent's weapon hand in lightsabre combat.

At first, it feels like nothing … Rey stares at the blaze of Kylo Ren's lightsabre, down at her right hand which lies on the pristine snow and then at the stump at the end of her wrist … There's no pain for a second … but then there is and then she opens her mouth to scream… 

She sinks to her knees, agony coursing through her as she grips her stump, barely noticing as Ren takes another step towards her. He seems almost horrified by what he has done.

Laser fire. Shouts. 

"Get back – leave her alone!"

Rey sways for a moment, still balanced precariously on her knees in the snow. There's a light snowfall and she looks up with glazed eyes before toppling over, just inches from her severed hand.

"I've got you, stay with me …" It's Poe. His dark eyes are wild with panic as he stares down at her.

"We've lost him, sir!"

"Keep looking – and just keep him the hell away from here," Poe bites out.

"She's going into shock." Finn's voice. 

Poe pulls off his jacket and wraps it around Rey. Finn hands him his jacket as well.

"Get her back to the ship – I'll cover you," he bites out and Poe swings her up in into his arms and jogs back through the clearing to the ship, his breathing ragged and harsh as he pushes himself to run faster than he ever thought possible.

Rey closes her eyes. Everything hurts.

It seems wrong that she, a creature of a desert planet will die in the snow. She says as much to Poe.

"You are not going to die, you are not going to die," he hisses, face twisting with grief and worry. He's reassuring himself as well as her.

*

"Hey there … it's about time you woke up…" She's never heard such softness in Poe's voice, such gentleness. 

Light fingers touch her cheek and smooth her hair back from her face.

"You scared the hell out of us." Finn's voice still sounds shaky.

"My hand …? " she asks her voice raspy with disuse. She blinks up at the ceiling of the medical centre. She doesn't even look down at her right hand.

Finn and Poe glance over at Dr Kalonia swiftly. Neither of them are up to the challenge of breaking the news to Rey.

The physician with the dark hair and dark eyes comes to stand beside Rey. She looks at her calmly, her voice very patient and soft. "Your friends retrieved your severed hand and in ordinary circumstances, we would have had a pretty good chance of reattaching the hand. Unfortunately, lightsabre injuries cause irreparable damage to the bone, tissue and nerve endings. The plus side is that they cauterise the wound so that it minimises blood loss, but it does mean that limb reattachment is not possible."

Rey closes her eyes tightly but not in time to stop the sting of tears. She bites down on her lower lip but a noisy sob escapes her nonetheless.

"With a prosthetic hand you will barely notice ... " A louder, more guttural sob escapes Rey.

"… maybe the two of you should leave now," the doctor tells Finn and Poe who look reluctant but are persuaded to leave when Rey buries her head in the doctor's coat front and sobs.

*

Rey sits in the window of the medical centre staring out into the vastness of space. Dr Kalonia gives her pain medication but medication can't dull the pain of a hand that is missing. The stump hurts like hell but so does the hand itself – even though it's not even there anymore.

"Phantom pain is not uncommon," Dr Kalonia tells her.

"Let me see it," she demands.

"I don't think that's a good idea .. perhaps when it's healed further and – "

"Let me see it!" her voice is sharp and high pitched.

Finn grips her left hand, Poe puts his arm about her narrow shoulders and holds her close as Dr Kalonia unwraps the stump and lets her see her ruined limb.

A strangled sob escapes her lips that she bites back before turning her head and burying her face in Poe's shoulder. He grips her tight, his lips pressed to the top of her head as he murmurs wordless comfort to her. Finn's squeezing her left hand so tightly that she can barely feel it.

*

Leia can't bear to look at the stump and averts her eyes when she comes to visit Rey. Her son has caused so much damage to so many people … She sits with the young woman and talks of many things but avoids speaking of Rey's injuries and never looks directly at the end of Rey's right arm. 

She tells her of new bases that have been established, new allies, new intelligence on the activities of the First Order.

"When you're well, I have need of you on a mission …" 

*

 

Luke Skywalker tells her about his own severed hand, showing her the dead flesh at the end of his wrist, recounts his duel with his father at Cloud City. "It is a precision technique demonstrating the skill of a swordsman … " Although his words are completely lacking in comfort value, they are at least interesting.

"I'm sorry I disobeyed you, master," she tells him softly.

"There's no need for an apology." He looks old and drained as he stares at his hand. "I also disobeyed my master's warnings and I, too suffered the same fate …" He flexes the black gauntleted prosthesis. "Who am I to reproach you?"

*

Finn has been researching and has all sorts of ideas about the sort of prosthetic that Rey should choose. He knows all about recent advancements in cybernetics, showing her diagrams and samples and discussing modifications and improvements that can be made. 

He also avoids looking at the stump, at the look in Rey's eyes. His chatter is unceasing, filling the room and making Rey smile and laugh. 

When Poe's there, the two of them keep her entertained, divert her attention and try to make her think about anything except the emptiness at the end of her wrist.

"Look at this – it's state of the art … you could even make it shoot out laser bolts if you wanted, I'll bet."

*

Poe doesn't try to say anything. There's nothing he can say to make it better so he just holds her and doesn't try to fill the silence with comforting words.

He comes into Rey's room one day and stares through the darkness. His throat tightens and his eyes darken as he sees her lying crumpled like a broken doll on the floor of her room.

Wordlessly, he reaches down and picks her up and sits down in the seat by the window, pulling her onto his lap. She buries her face in his neck and if he can feel dampness soaking his collar, he says nothing, choosing instead to just hold her tight and rock her back and forth. He lets her sob it out, his arms tight around her body. When she gives a loud, inelegant hiccough, he lets himself smile and wipes the tear stains off her face and hands her a tissue so that she can blow her nose.

She watches silently as he undresses the wound, looking away when he looks up at her reproachfully. She hasn't been following the post-operative regimen and he knows it. She sighs and sits still as he cleans the stump with mild soap and water, being extremely careful not to apply any pressure. He lets the warm water flow gently over the stump before drying it well.

He re-wraps it lightly. "The quicker you heal, the faster you'll get your prosthesis," he tells her. "Finn's got one all picked out."

That makes her laugh. "Have you seen it? It's ridiculous."

"But powerful!" he points out.

She gets back into his lap, curling up against him trustfully as his arms come around her again and she rests her bandaged stamp lightly on her lap.

"If it hurts, you should take the pain medication." 

"They make me feel sick," she tells him. "But this helps," and she closes her eyes and rests her cheek against his chest.

"You will get through this," he promises her and his mouth seeks out hers, his lips firm and reassuring. Her lips part momentarily and she closes her eyes and enjoys the pleasure of his mouth against hers, his tongue sliding against hers. It seems impossible that he can still desire her… her good hand goes up to slide into his thick curling hair and he makes a sound of approval in his throat.

"I've been maimed," she mumbles, pulling her mouth away from his.

"Your hand's just been Jangoed is all ..." He presses his lips to her forehead. "You are still perfect to me."

That makes her laugh. "You're absolutely terrible."

"But you like me anyway," he teases, nuzzling her mouth again as his hand slides beneath the light fabric of her blouse to touch her sensitive breasts. It's been weeks since she's had any intimate contact with either him or Finn and she's hungry … He picks her up and carries her to the bed, careful not to hurt her. She whimpers as his mouth and hands travel over her body. In seconds, she has everything except that this is Poe Dameron and he loves her …

*

There's relief in Finn's eyes when he walks in the next morning and sees Rey and Poe lying on the bed, limbs tangled and completely at ease with one another's bodies. Wordlessly, the two of them move over to make room as Finn discards his shoes and jacket and stretches himself out in the narrow bed alongside them.

"So does this mean you're ready for your cybernetic hand?" Finn asks suddenly.

"Shut up, Finn," Poe mumbles sleepily.

"You talk too much," Rey tells him with a drowsy smile and silences him the best way she knows how.

*

"Flex," Dr Kalonia orders her calmly.

Rey opens and tightens her prosthetic hand into a fist. Connected to her wrist via a complex synth-net neural interface, she marvels at the control and sensation. 

"Just a few more adjustments," the doctor murmurs. 

The synthflesh looks disconcertingly real and Finn's peering at it in almost boyish fascination, peering at the circuitry of the hand and peppering the long-suffering doctor with questions. In contrast, Poe is holding her left hand and making inappropriate jokes that make her bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"That is amazing," Finn breathes, running a fingertip down the palm of her hand.

"That tickles," she whispers.

She reaches out and grips Finn's hand with her new hand. His eyebrows shoot up in astonishment at the strength of her grip.

"You're right," she tells Poe and Finn. "Everything's going to be all right."

**fin**


End file.
